Update on the Devils (Rocko)

Rocko again! So.... Here is the latest update about what we have been up to. The last time the Devils played together was early February when we all converged on Nashville for our final rehearsal all in the same room. We made a "board recording" of that rehearsal and each of us has a CD of it so we can rehearse with headphones and iPod's. Me in the stadium seats away from the stage after load-in in various venues all over South America, Larry at his home in Chicago, and Scott, Jim, and Brent in Nashville. Kind of a strange way to prepare for the biggest gig of our life! However it is the only way to make sure we are tight on the night. Scott, Jim, and Brent leave next week to work for Journey who are playing at a private corporate event in a tropical state that starts with an "H",but they have and will again get together with Larry a few days before they come to Honolulu. I have just finished the South American portion of this leg of the U2 tour, and unfortunately I injured my knee when I fell off the stage during the first of 2 shows in Buenos Aires. I am walking with crutches right now but will be OK as I have a week to recover.Then it is on to New Zealand, Australia, and Japan. If, and this is a big if, our U2 production team can get the show flown into Hawaii from Japan and loaded into Aloha Stadium the day before (April 7th) and have everything U2 ready to go, we might have time to rehearse one last time together that evening. That's what the guys were talking about when they said "if Rocko doesn't have us turning the grinding wheel". I still have to do my job as Stage Manager, with a 45 minute break to get up and be a rock star, then back to running the show and loading it all out. This brings me to a point I would like to make about why we are doing this. Our performance is more than an unbelievable personal opportunity for us as musicians, it is more for the incredible fans of U2. In all of our years of touring there has never been people in the crowds of any of the artists we set up shows for as dedicated, as loving, as caring, and as exciting as U2 fans and Journey fans. They are all cut from the same stock - that is... ordinary people doing something extraordinary. You know if you have ever been to more than one of these shows what I am talking about. All Rocko and the Devils represent is - that we are the same as all of you. We are just like the person in the crowd who holds up a sign saying "pick me" or "I play guitar". The fact is we work for artists who are confident enough in who they are, and appreciative of the hard work we put in each show to give them a stage to do what they do best. But neither rock star or road crew member would have a job if it wasn't for the fans. Everthing we do is for you, for without an audience, what we build is totally indefensible. There would be no reason to build these huge productions if it was not for the fans. And trust me, I have seen these guys rehearse without a crowd in front of them, the music is just not the same without you. So thank you all from the bottom of our hearts for coming out and giving us purpose. I hope our show is worthy of your soul sharing.

Love - Rocko


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